The Shinkai 6500, one of only 10 manned submersibles in the world, has a lifespan of approximately 5 years.
There are only 10 manned submersibles in the world, including the Shinkai 6500, that can dive to depths of 6500 meters or more. But…
The manned submersible Titan suffered a tragedy. Although there are only 10 manned submersibles in the world capable of diving to “ultra-deep sea” depths of 6500 m or more, the fact that the “Titan” was diving without official certification has become a problem.
One of these 10 vessels is Japan’s Shinkai 6500. Japan is indeed a technological powerhouse. Japan is also an island nation, and it is not negligent in its research and study of the sea,
The “Shinkai 6500” was built in 1989. It has already made more than 1,500 dives, and five more years is probably the limit. If we don’t build a successor soon, there will be no more manned submersibles in Japan, but we may not be able to build one with Japanese technology anymore.
Dr. Hiroshi Kitazato of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology says something shocking like this.
I hear that there is a plan to build the Shinkai-12000, which can dive 12,000 meters,
The plan was first proposed in 2002. The research was funded, but no budget has been allocated since then.
Therefore, the technology has not been handed down to the next generation, and it is no longer possible to build a submarine using only domestic technology.
Manned submersibles” can no longer be built with Japanese technology…
In the ocean, one atmospheric pressure is applied for every 10 meters underwater, and if you dive 10,000 meters, you will be subjected to an intense water pressure of 1 ton per 1㎠. To withstand this pressure, for example, requires welding techniques that can be described as “virtuoso”.
However, “Shinkai 6500” was built 30 years ago. The craftsmen who worked on the Shinkai 6500 have already retired, and their skills have not been passed down to the next generation. The buoyancy materials required for the submersible to rise to the surface have not been made for 30 years, and it is unlikely that they will be made again.
On August 13, 2010, a research team led by the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology visited the deepest point in the Ogasawara Trench at 9,801 meters by submersible, breaking the “deepest Japanese diving record” for the first time in 60 years. A camera installed on the unmanned exploration robot Lander, which was deployed as an undersea lighthouse during the dive, was able to capture images of deep-sea fish swimming at a depth of 8,336 m. In April 2011, the team was recognized by Guinness World Records as the “deepest fish.
Why was the “Shinkai 12000” project abandoned?
One reason is the bubble economy. In those days, when money was plentiful, the government and industry thought that they could just buy what they needed rather than creating new things. They did not spend money for technological innovation. That’s why Japan’s technological capability has declined, and not just in submarines.”
I wondered why we had fallen so far behind the rest of the world, and that’s what happened. If they had the money, they could have spent it on as much research as they wanted.
Incidentally, the Science Council of Japan estimated the construction cost of the “Shinkai 12000” at 30 billion yen (or 50 billion yen). Dr. Kitasato says, “This won’t be enough,” but the money spent on Miner Point was 2 trillion yen. If we had this much?
